Attending comedy shows in Los Angeles is usually a predictably grueling experience. Generally, these evenings include tediously waiting for the show to start later than scheduled, a two item minimum forcing audiences to partake of mediocre defrosted fries and poorly mixed cocktails and perhaps one or two chuckle-worthy comics(mixed in with five others who make driving on the 405 at 5 pm seem like a pleasant alternative). The “Great Hollywood Standoff” refreshingly proves that one does not have to pay for their laughs with such suffering.

Tucked away in the back of Hollywood Boulevard’s “Pig-N-Whistle,” comedy seekers who are in-the-know can sneak in to this speak-easy style venue to enjoy a laid-back atmosphere, surprisingly good food and drinks and remarkable comedy. Although this show has only been around for a few short months, in that time it has already been attracting impressive talent. The show’s producers, Anne-Marie Symons and Scott Mouro, clearly carefully sift through their lineup to make sure audiences get a full night of quality comedians— from well-known comedic veterans with impressive credits to talented newcomers. Some past headliners have included Dwayne Perkins (of Conan O’Brien, Daniel Tosh and Comedy Central fame), Rick Shapiro (“Louie,” SNL and Conan), and Fortune Feimster (“Last Comic Standing” and “Chelsea Lately”). I found Feimster particularly noteworthy, although I must confess that initially, her outrageous name prejudiced me against her unfairly—I feared that her tone might be similarly garish and broad. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that on the contrary, her style was understated, clever, laid-back and self-deprecating and she had me in tears by the end of her set. Since I have seen the show several times (which is recommendation alone considering what a comedy curmudgeon I generally profess to be) I can also comment reliably on the consistently excellent performances of some of the shows regulars as well— most particularly, the appealingly cocky Kristin Holloway, Galloway Allbright, the dryly observational and occasionally philosophical comic, and the outrageously shameless Anne-Marie Symons, one of the producers of the show, will have you laughing and cringing simultaneously throughout her set.

Of course, there are a few negatives; it’s not as glamorously located as some other venues, so if you are willing to sacrifice a funnier lineup in an effort to avoid overlooking a few tourists on the way into the show I suggest looking elsewhere. Also, the show is not completely immune to being inflicted with the incidental cringe-worthy, self-indulgent and/or boring comedian; however, the ratio of good to bad far surpasses that which I’ve seen at any other venue in Los Angeles.

@SocialLA recommends that anyone looking to brighten their Sunday nights should check out this show. I’m sure in the future “The Great Hollywood Standoff’s” reputation for attracting high-quality comedians will only increase as the show begins to establish itself as one of the brightest newcomers to the LA comedy scene.

If you would like to attend the next performance of “The Great Hollywood Standoff” it will be on Sunday, March 11, 2012 at the Pig-N-Whistle.

www.thegreathollywoodstandoff.com
http://annemariesymons.com/
http://www.fortunefeimster.com/
http://www.dwayneperkins.com/
http://rickshapiro.tv/

Anne Marie Symons:@AnneMarieSymons
Dwayne Perkins: @funnydp
Fortune Feimster: @fortunefunny@fortunefunny
Rick Shapiro: @rickshapirotv
Kristin Holloway: @kh2o